Reading information about a scientific phenomenon on webpages varying for reliability: an eye-movement analysis

Abstract

Students search the Web frequently for many purposes, one of which is to search information for academic assignments. Given the huge amount of easily accessible online information, they are required to develop new reading skills and become more able to effectively evaluate the reliability of web sources. This study investigates the distribution of their visual attention while reading webpages using eyetracking methodology. The aim was to examine whether information received differential attention depending on the reliability of the source and whether the individual characteristics of topic-specific prior knowledge and epistemic beliefs moderated their visual behavior during reading. Factual knowledge after reading was also examined. Forty-nine university students read four webpages providing verbal and graphical information about the universal validity of the central dogma of molecular biology, which varied for reliability. Indices of first-pass and second-pass reading or inspection were used to trace the processing of information within each page. Findings revealed that readers made an implicit source evaluation as they spent a longer time inspecting the pictures about the more and less familiar information within the most reliable source during the immediate, more automatic, processing. In addition, topic-specific epistemic beliefs moderated this processing as readers with more availing convictions about knowledge attended more the information provided in pages that required more discernment. Moreover, readers increased their factual knowledge of the topic after reading. Educational implications are outlined.

Using eye-tracking to assess sourcing during multiple document reading: A critical analysis

“…Results from our study converge with existing evidence suggesting that current eye-tracking indices of sourcing have several limitations Gerjets et al, 2011;Mason et al, 2014;van Strien et al, 2016), especially when they are not tied to experimental manipulations performed to test specific hypotheses based on a theoretical model of sourcing, such as the D-ISC (Braasch & Bråten, 2017). Our results also suggest that simpler methods, such as asking readers whether they paid attention to source information, actually may be better suited to assess strategic sourcing during multiple document reading.…”

“…During the last decade, several authors have attempted to use eye-tracking to measure sourcing in multiple document reading situations Brand-Gruwel, Kammerer, van Meeuwen, & van Gog, 2017;Gerjets, Kammerer, & Werner, 2011;Kammerer, Kalbfell, & Gerjets, 2016;Mason, Pluchino, & Ariasi, 2014;van Strien, Kammerer, Brand-Gruwel, & Boshuizen, 2016). These researchers have used different indices derived from fixations on source information available on pages, typically document logos (e.g., the name of a company), 'about us' information, or names of authors.…”

“…These researchers have used different indices derived from fixations on source information available on pages, typically document logos (e.g., the name of a company), 'about us' information, or names of authors. Continuous indices include first and second pass fixation duration on source names in headlines or logos (Mason et al, 2014) and total fixation time on logos (Gerjets et al, 2011;van Strien et al, 2016). Non-continuous indices include percentage of page logos fixated for more than 100 msec .…”

Unpacking cognitive skills engaged in web-search: how can log files, eye movements, and cued-retrospective reports help? An in-depth qualitative case study

“…Diverse techniques have already been developed and used to study those different cognitive skills involved when solving problems where processing digital information is crucial. For instance, logging protocols recording the actions made on the computer screen (e.g., Van Deursen, Görzig, Van Delzen, Perik, and Stegeman, 2014), eye-tracking measuring the flow of visual attention (e.g., Mason, Pluchino, and Ariasi, 2014;Jarodzka, Janssen, Kirschner, and Erkens, 2015), and verbal protocols expressing cognitive activities (e.g., Brand-Gruwel et al, 2009;Gerjets, Kammerer, and Werner, 2011). However, each technique provides a partial caption of the cognitive skills involved in IPS; consequently, this shows an incomplete understanding of the entire IPS process.…”

Unpacking cognitive skills engaged in web-search: how can log files, eye movements, and cued-retrospective reports help? An in-depth qualitative case study

“…Diverse techniques have already been developed and used to study those different cognitive skills involved when solving problems where processing digital information is crucial. For instance, logging protocols recording the actions made on the computer screen (e.g., Van Deursen, Görzig, Van Delzen, Perik, and Stegeman, 2014), eye-tracking measuring the flow of visual attention (e.g., Mason, Pluchino, and Ariasi, 2014;Jarodzka, Janssen, Kirschner, and Erkens, 2015), and verbal protocols expressing cognitive activities (e.g., Brand-Gruwel et al, 2009;Gerjets, Kammerer, and Werner, 2011). However, each technique provides a partial caption of the cognitive skills involved in IPS; consequently, this shows an incomplete understanding of the entire IPS process.…”